Search for the Forgotten Past
by Invader Mel1
Summary: Continuation to The Ability of Many. Dib and Callista's future kids travel through time in search of their forgotten past. Part Two of The Infinity Void.
1. Jump to the Future

1 Chapter 1 –Jump To The Future  
  
It was later during the night that Callista returned from Zim's dimension. Callista had just snuck into bed; she was late getting there because she lost track of time while looking at the UFO 'zine she had been given. She would tell her parents that her friend had given it to her, which was true. No one would believe that she met a cartoon character and that he gave it to her. Just as she crept under her blanket, Callista's mom turned the light on.  
  
"What do you think you're doing? It's 2:00 in the morning!"  
  
"Oh – I... um... saw a UFO and wanted to check it out!"  
  
"That's the third time this week you've used that excuse!"  
  
"Yeah, she's always saying, 'they're coming! They're coming! They're after my mind!'" Callista's sister Tany said in a mocking way.  
  
"Go to sleep. I have to get up in a few hours," Cathey told Callista angrily.  
  
"It's true! If you had any idea what I've been through..."  
  
"What? Were you abducted by aliens?" Tany asked jokingly.  
  
"Take a look in the trash!" Callista instructed, referring to the note she had written.  
  
"Okay, mother, I was reading a UFO magazine because it's a gift from someone special."  
  
"And what should you be doing?"  
  
"Going to sleep, but..."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"But I saw something strange!"  
  
"What Callista?" Cathey asked.  
  
"A flash of light! I thought it was lightning but it lit up the whole room! If it was lightning, it would have been followed by thunder shortly after! It was too bright! I think it was them!"  
  
"Yeah. Right. Who?" Tany asked.  
  
"Try to go to sleep," her mother instructed.  
  
"I will try. It won't be easy, though," she said awkwardly, for she really had seen the flash of light that she described.  
  
Four years later.  
  
Callista was in the ninth grade now. Time sure flied since the time that she staved off the Gauveuntains with her two best friends Zim and Dib. In the high school, her sister Tany picked her on. She spread rumors that were and weren't true. A bright light that greatly resembled the Gauveuntain ship hovered in the sky; disappeared. Seralio's ship appeared in its place. Suddenly, she was beamed aboard.  
  
"Welcome back, Callista. We have a job for you."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"You need to go back to Zim's reality."  
  
"What am I to do there, Seralio?"  
  
"You will find out."  
  
"How long will I be there?"  
  
"You are truly a kidder, Callista. You know very well that time is relative."  
  
"I know. How much time there, then?"  
  
"As long as it takes."  
  
"I will be honored to take on the job, whatever it is."  
  
"I will send you right away. What time would you like to be sent to?"  
  
"The same time as I am in. When Dib is in the ninth grade."  
  
"Very well then. You will arrive at Dib's house."  
  
"Will the time of day be the same as now?"  
  
"It must be."  
  
"Very well. Beam me down." In a flash, Callista found herself outside of Dib's room. "I hope he doesn't get too shocked..." Callista whispered as she slowly turned the doorknob. She entered Dib's room and saw how different it was. When she approached Dib's bed, she said as quietly as she could, "Dib, wake up!" Still he didn't stir. "Wake up Dib!" Callista ordered, slightly louder.  
  
"Who – what?" Dib asked, "It's you! Callista, you're back! After four years!" Dib cried in amazement and joy.  
  
"Quiet!" She shushed Dib.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"We're going to Zim's house."  
  
"What will dad think? That I ran away?"  
  
"We'll be back before anyone knows. I promise."  
  
"Okay, I'll go." When they reached Zim's house, Callista rang the doorbell. Zim was already there and opened the door.  
  
"Callista! What are you doing here?"  
  
"I was sent by Seralio."  
  
"We've got work to do. Callista, do you know anything about what this is about?" Zim inquired.  
  
"No. Zim, get your stone that I gave you. Dib already has his." They entered the room.  
  
"I have the latest issue of Crop Circles Magazine. Would you like to see it?"  
  
"Sure. Thanks. I haven't seen you for four years. I've missed you."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"I know. It's too bad you couldn't stay for Thanksgiving last time."  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to miss it – I guess fate had other things in store for me."  
  
"If you're here for a long enough time, can you stay for Thanksgiving?"  
  
"Of course. Nothing could keep me away."  
  
"I wonder what's taking Zim so long."  
  
"I don't know. What I do know is that the week I spent in this dimension was unforgettable. I never forgot it, and I never will."  
  
"I've got it!" Zim yelled as he came into the room.  
  
"Be quiet Zim! It's two o'clock in the morning for goodness sake! Do you want to wake up the whole planet?"  
  
"That's what I asked GIR when I first arrived on this planet!" Zim cried out in amazement.  
  
"Yeah, I know. We have to keep quiet. Zim, go in the kitchen."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"GIR left something on the stove and it's going to start burning soon."  
  
"Oh." Zim got the pot of beans off the stove and asked GIR what he was doing with beans. It was futile, though, as all he could get out of GIR was, 'I don't know'  
  
"Zim, go to your lab," Callista commanded.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You'll see something very peculiar down there that I think you should investigate." When Zim left the room, Callista turned her attention toward Dib. "So, what have you been up to the past four years?"  
  
"Not much. I hoped you could have come back sooner, though."  
  
"I could've come back a year after, but I'd still be the same age I am now."  
  
"I understand."  
  
"I have a question," Callista said.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Have you ever dated anyone besides me?"  
  
"What? No!"  
  
"I will have to check with Zim."  
  
"How can you rely on that alien? He'll just make something up!"  
  
"I don't know. I just have to check."  
  
"I really haven't though!"  
  
"Are you still in love with me, or are you just making it up so I won't feel bad?"  
  
"I really do. Trust me."  
  
"I do. Let's look at that magazine."  
  
At Zim's lab  
  
"Callista, I don't know what you were talking about. There's nothing peculiar down..." Zim didn't finish his sentence. He saw GIR chewing on a candy bar. Not only that, but GIR was messing with a machine. It was a machine that would change people's ages.  
  
"NO!" Zim shouted, but it was too late. Dib and Callista were looking at a magazine together, but now they were drinking coffee and typing a report about paranormal activity on their laptops. They looked different, too. Dib looked pretty much the same; only instead of having a face on his shirt there was a ghost. Callista wore a jacket like Dib's that was blue and a dark blue long-sleeve shirt. There was another difference also. This difference was apparent in the both of them. They both wore wedding rings. When Zim saw what GIR had done, he could only say, "Oh my gosh..." The whole world was twenty years older.  
  
"Dib, are you almost done with that investigative piece on Bigfoot?"  
  
"Yeah, almost. You almost done with your report on my abduction?"  
  
"One more lengthy paragraph should do it." Zim felt slightly weaker, for he was 20 Earth years older.  
  
"When do we pick up the kids?" Dib asked.  
  
"3:00 p.m."  
  
"Wait a minute. Callista, I have a question," Zim cut in.  
  
"You can call me by my first name since we're friends, but I often prefer 'Mrs. Membrane' okay?"  
  
"I could have taken your name when we married, though."  
  
"No, I was honored. Your name is just fine."  
  
"I was wondering... what are your kids' names?" Zim asked.  
  
"Zim, of all the stupid questions to ask! They're Caitlyn and Dil of course!"  
  
"I'm sorry, I've lost some memory... or my senses... what are the professions they desire, how old are they?"  
  
"Zim, what has gotten into you? Caitlyn is ten and Dil is eleven. Caitlyn wants to be a scientist and Dil wants to be a paranormal investigator, just like old mom and dad!"  
  
"-Like...mom and dad... okay... You're married, aren't you," Zim guessed.  
  
"I'd better get you to the lab. Dib, don't sneak a peek at my report. It's a surprise for the meeting."  
  
"Okay!"  
  
"Zim, what's wrong?" Zim wanted her to know about the problem, but couldn't tell her because knowing this could affect them in serious medical ways.  
  
"Nothing. I'm in perfect health."  
  
"What about the amnesia?"  
  
"Can you fill me in after work?"  
  
"Sure thing Zim. I've got to get my report done, though, so just lie down and rest. Okay?"  
  
"I will do that."  
  
"Dib, it's almost 5:00 a.m., finish up."  
  
"We don't leave for work until six!"  
  
"According to the schedule, we have to begin getting ready for work at 5:00 a.m."  
  
"I don't like that schedule."  
  
"I just don't want us to be late; I don't have a license, remember? If you're late, I'm late. If we're late, we'll get fired. If we get fired, we have no money. If we have no money, we have no food, shelter, etc. Our whole income is based upon the schedule."  
  
"Let's not fight. We can argue with skeptics at the office and on TV. That sounds better, doesn't it?"  
  
"Yes. Thanks. You do know we don't go on TV for another week, though."  
  
"I know, but we get to go on 'Mysterious Mysteries' my favorite show as a child."  
  
"Some things never change, do they?"  
  
"Nope, they sure don't."  
  
"Dad, I need to ask you a question," 11-year-old Dil said. Dil wore a coat like Dib and a green shirt under-neath. His pants were black, as was the tradition.  
  
"Go ahead. But first, tell me why you're up so early."  
  
"I couldn't sleep."  
  
"You mean you've been up all this time?"  
  
"Yes, but, why don't we just catch Zim as proof that aliens exist? I want to hunt that alien down and save the Earth!"  
  
"You sound just like Dib did when he was your age."  
  
"Well, you see Dil, if we were to catch Zim, then the Earth would be in danger. Don't worry. Everything will pan out right."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I've had my own adventure... believe me."  
  
"Aw, Dad..."  
  
"Dil, you leave Zim alone, and that's an order! I'm sorry about this, but I can't allow you to do this. A whole twenty years ago, when I was fifteen I learned my lesson."  
  
As Dil went back to bed, he thought, 'Well, dad doesn't want to hurt Zim because he threatened to kill Mom or something. He couldn't possibly mean what he said.' "Caitlyn, wake up."  
  
"What is it now, DIL. You are so annoying sometimes."  
  
"Just because you're a year younger than me and that I am the favorite child doesn't mean you have to be jealous of me."  
  
"Dil, I might just be saying this because from both sides of the family siblings have picked on the one that wants to be a paranormal investigator, but you are weird."  
  
"No, I'm not weird! I think I inherited a gift from Mom."  
  
"Why did you bother me at 5:05 a.m.?"  
  
"We're going to capture an alien." 


	2. A Memory of One Time

Chapter 2 – A Memory Of One Time  
  
Twenty years ago.  
  
Dib and Callista, at age fifteen, were defending the universe once again. Dib had decided four years ago that he would give his life for Callista if the need arose. This time, he was defending something even greater – the right to love. Zim still wanted to take over the world and now more than ever Dib was determined to capture him.  
  
"Callista! Hurry!" Dib shouted urgently. He had given her a bomb and she planted it into one of Zim's machines. It would blow up in ten minutes, hardly enough time to vacate the base. The operation was risky and either one of them could die. Although Zim was her friend, she wanted to prove to Dib how much she loved him. Dib said he didn't care if she just stayed home, but she refused. So here she was, running as fast as she could. The run was exhilarating and she decided she would be on Dib's side for the rest of her life. She liked running from Zim, trying to get into his base, and she liked being a part of Dib's team. Just as the bomb went off, they escaped. An angry screaming was heard as Dib and Callista ran for their lives.  
  
"Dib! I'll get you for this... Callista? You're a part of this?" Zim looked surprised and had an awful look on his face.  
  
"YES! YOU ALIEN!" Callista yelled in his face.  
  
"But – why? I thought we were friends. You lied..." Zim was upset. He never got betrayed before that he knew of, "You betrayed me. We were close friends..."  
  
"I'm sorry, Zim. I can't be your friend and Dib's girlfriend. I really love him."  
  
"I-I don't believe I'm not your friend. You've turned into my enemy. And so you shall be treated like one!" Zim pulled out a ray gun and aimed it at Callista. She got hit and fell unconscious.  
  
"Zim! Look at what you've done!"  
  
"Don't worry, I set the thing on stun. I'll give her some time to change her mind. I won't have it on stun when I get to you, though!"  
  
"NO YOU WON'T GET TO ME!" Dib yelled out as he carried Callista to his house.  
  
"Are you okay?" Dib asked as Callista came into consciousness.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"Zim almost got to me. He said he would set it on kill for me. Next time I have a feeling Zim won't just stun you."  
  
"We made it. We really made it. When's the next time we do something like that?"  
  
"I don't know, but are you up to it?"  
  
"Dib, are you kidding? Infiltrating Zim's lair is what I live for!"  
  
"I know, but where are you going to stay? You don't have parents or a home here!"  
  
"Dib, I don't know, but running from that bomb felt so... right. I can't explain it."  
  
"If you insist. I do have a request, though. Please let ME do the dangerous part next time."  
  
"Okie dokie. Thanks for reviving me." Later that night, Callista said she had to go for a walk. She neglected to say that it was a walk to Zim's house. Not to get revenge or anything like that, but she had an instinct that she had to go there. She knocked on the door, and GIR answered.  
  
"Hello...?"  
  
"Hi GIR. I have to come in."  
  
"Okay!" Callista sat on the floor. A vision came to her. She awoke from her trance to find Zim there.  
  
"YOU! I will destroy you now..." Zim pointed the ray gun at her and adjusted it to kill.  
  
"NO ZIM! I'm here for a peaceful reason!"  
  
"You call setting a bomb in my base peaceful!"  
  
"I got a vision. I'm going to save your life; it's in great danger."  
  
"Elaborate."  
  
"Zim, if Dib tries to infiltrate your lab, the Earth is DOOMED. If I were to marry him in the future, you'd be okay, and the Earth would be okay. If we hated each other, the Earth would be doomed and so would you. If the two of us didn't infiltrate, then we would marry in the future. I don't desire to infiltrate, ZIM! I don't! Dib wants to. He also wants to marry me at some point in time, so I can get it so your troubles would be over! Just spare me and I promise this. I haven't broken a promise yet, and Zim, I don't intend to now."  
  
"Okay then, if the fate of the universe depends on it," Zim allowed, sounding kind of confused.  
  
"I won't let you down." Callista raced back to Dib's house. "Dib, I have to tell you something."  
  
"I know. What is it?"  
  
"We can't fight Zim! The fate of the universe depends on it!"  
  
"What? An hour ago you said you wanted to infiltrate!"  
  
"Listen Dib. This universe will cave in if you don't cooperate!"  
  
"I didn't know that!"  
  
"Now you know!"  
  
"Okay. What do we do?"  
  
"Follow me." Dib followed Callista through a cave-like tunnel until they reached a sea of milky white liquid that much resembled the orange water they drank four years ago. At this point in time, Dib knew he had entered Callista's wavelength.  
  
"We have to cross that?" Dib asked.  
  
"'Tis easier than you think." Callista took Dib's hand and a gust of wind whisked them above the strange water. Dib was bewildered at this, but remembered how disoriented he was when he was taken to the wavelength of Callista in the fifth grade. Finally they reached the other side of the seemingly endless ocean.  
  
"Callista, what are we doing here?"  
  
"Shh. I hear something."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I don't no. We have to wait and find out." At that instant, they found themselves at Zim's house.  
  
"So what are you going to cook for this 'Thanksgiving' you speak of?" Zim suddenly asked. Dib and Callista weren't sure about what had just occurred, but they figured they could find out later.  
  
"Well turkey and cranberries..." Callista started.  
  
"...and mashed potatoes, and peas." Dib finished.  
  
"Yeah, it's going to be great this year! I'm going to have some friends beside my family this time!"  
  
"It's too bad that you're going to miss it with your family though," Dib said, disappointed.  
  
"No I don't. You see, I go back to the time I left when I get back from these journeys."  
  
"I thought that was a paradox," Dib said.  
  
"You see, since these are two different dimensions, time becomes elastic. Let me show you," Callista pulled out a piece of paper and drew on it. "Here's an example,"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"As time runs here, it runs at home, at its own pace. When I go to my own dimension, I go to the point in which I left. This is how I can go back,"  
  
  
  
"Since you can't change the past, and you can't see the future, the present time is the only place left to go to. I mean, the only time, left to go to."  
  
"Oh, I get it now!" Dib suddenly understood.  
  
"Of course Earth monkey!"  
  
"Why can't we attack Zim again?"  
  
"Dib let me explain it this way. If we hurt Zim, the universe will be doomed!"  
  
"Okay, I understand."  
  
"So... it's the 20th of November, two days before Thanksgiving, should we get the things we need for dinner on Thanksgiving?" Callista suggested.  
  
"I already purchased the things necessary. I want to help you cook dinner. It's too big a job," Dib informed.  
  
"Okay. That's good."  
  
Thanksgiving  
  
"Hurry, the turkey's going to burn!" Callista yelled out.  
  
"I've got it Callista!" Dib then pulled the turkey out of the oven. Zim was struggling with the cranberry sauce, and Callista was in between mashed potatoes and turkey. Dib was also helping with the turkey and mashed potatoes.  
  
"I hope that this dinner turns out okay!" Callista shouted hopefully, "How did you get Zim to help out anyway?"  
  
"I told him that I would destroy the universe if he didn't help," Dib said rather calmly.  
  
"Cranberries away!" Zim yelled as he tossed the cranberries into a bowl. He wasn't exactly good at it, though.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING ZIM!" Dib yelled as Callista held up the turkey that was just taken out of the oven. She caught the cranberries in the bowl. They were arranged perfectly as if someone put them in a special order. "Wow. Good aim."  
  
"I know. I did it on purpose," Zim replied.  
  
"Not YOU Zim! Callista caught them!" Dib yelled.  
  
"Let's just get this dinner started, okay?" Callista suggested.  
  
"Okay," mumbled Dib and Zim. When the table was finally set, Zim was about to eat (he already checked to see if the food was edible) when Dib stopped him.  
  
"Zim, it's traditional that we say what we're thankful for."  
  
"Oh. Go ahead."  
  
"I have recited a poem for the occasion. It is about what I'm thankful for. This poem is entitled: 'Thanksgiving'  
  
"I can be thankful for many things,  
  
Among them all,  
  
I share this one.  
  
'Tis a gift I have,  
  
Long after I have dreams,  
  
I can remember:  
  
Three or four,  
  
Or five or six!  
  
The average American,  
  
Only recalls,  
  
One or two.  
  
Another thing,  
  
I am thankful for,  
  
Is my loving family.  
  
A third thing,  
  
I am thankful for,  
  
Are my teachers,  
  
In loving care.  
  
When I see,  
  
Thanksgiving dinner,  
  
I think not of food,  
  
But my dear friends."  
  
"You're a good poet," Zim complimented sounding impressed, "and a good pest."  
  
"Hey! I heard that! But thanks Zim. Let's eat now."  
  
"Thanks for helping prepare the food Callista," Dib thanked, and then dug into the turkey.  
  
"This is truly the best Thanksgiving ever!" Callista gratefully yelled into the sky, ignoring the fact that Zim and Dib were staring at her. 


	3. Meeting With Mystery

Chapter 3 –Meeting With Mystery  
  
Twenty years in the future, with Dil and Caitlyn.  
  
"Come on, I set a bomb into Zim's instruments," Dil told his sister. They had snuck into Zim's lab while he was resting.  
  
"We have to make a run for it, Dil! It goes off in ten minutes!" Dil and Caitlyn ran as fast as they could down the corridor. "I can't believe this! My friends' big brothers give them extra desserts but NO! Mine has to take me to plant a bomb in Zim's lab!" Caitlyn yelled out. They ran out of Zim's house without taking their parents with them; they already left for work. A deafening explosion was heard and Dil knew that he had used a stronger bomb than he expected. In their hands they held their belongings contained within suitcases that were made of silver and bronze.  
  
"You think Mom and Dad will notice?" Dil inquired.  
  
"No, I think that Zim's burnt down house is hardly noticeable! They won't notice! Yes, of course they're going to notice!" Caitlyn changed from sarcastic to angry as she glanced back at the base in the house that was now – to their amazement – in perfect condition.  
  
"I was just asking!" Dil exclaimed as he ran for his life. He bolted around the alleyways, taking his sister by the hand. The after-shock of the blast might stretch for a few more blocks. Or a few more miles. "I hope we make it!" Dil shouted. Suddenly, the blast took them off their feet.  
  
"What's happening now?" Caitlyn screamed to be heard over the rumbling of the detonation.  
  
"I don't know!" Dil responded. Suddenly, they were at the entrance of a cave and all was silent. "What is this place? How'd we get here?"  
  
"'Tis to be known at a later time. Come," a mysterious voice said. A lady entered the field of vision, revealing the fact that she wore a shredded blue coat with tattered black pants. She wore a dark blue shirt that was torn at the bottom; it barely fit. She slightly resembled their mom, but older. Ten years older, to be precise.  
  
"Why are we here?"  
  
"Dil, as you are known on your planet, you must be sad."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Don't you sense it... your parents..."  
  
"What's wrong with our parents?" Dil demanded.  
  
"Well, I can see you have the inquisitive nature of your father and the powers of your mom."  
  
"Are they dead?" Dil asked in anxiety.  
  
"Of course not! They're in between, though."  
  
"Take me to them! And what powers did my mom have that you speak of?"  
  
"Oh, all in good time dear. And why do you even ask that? The Ability of- oh, that's right. I didn't tell you yet."  
  
"What's The Ability?"  
  
"You sound more and more like your father every day. The Ability is a power of the mind – you can hear people's thoughts."  
  
"Wow, and I thought I was crazy."  
  
"You're not crazy and neither am I. Dil, we need to talk."  
  
"Mom. Dad. They hid something from me, didn't they?"  
  
"I'd say those are harsh words to use. They never got the chance to tell you something. Something important. I will tell you." Through her mind, she told Dil everything that had happened in the fifth grade.  
  
"My parents knew each other in the fifth grade? Cool!"  
  
"Yes, but they rarely saw each other. They didn't see each other again until they were fifteen. It's sad, but that was how things were."  
  
"What happened in between fifteen and now? When I was born."  
  
"That is what you must discover. There is no record of you being born. According to the dates, your parents should be fifteen. But they're not. They're thirty-five. There's been a bit of a jump through time here."  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
"You know very well what I mean."  
  
"Let me get this straight. There is no record of my parents getting older... yet they're thirty-five... no record of me being born... Does everyone else have a record of getting older?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then this makes no sense! The only way possible would be if one of them came from another dimension... but they didn't, right? They did... didn't they?"  
  
"Only your mother. She loved you very much and said that if anything were to happen to her that she loves you very, very much."  
  
"What are we to do?"  
  
"She is between living and dying. She would be dead, but if she's dead, she can't go to her own dimension. If she can't go to her own dimension, there's a paradox."  
  
"Yeah, this I know. What I don't know is where she is."  
  
"I think it's sweet that when he fell in love he promised to give his life for Mom if a catastrophe occurred," Caitlyn stated her opinion.  
  
"That's completely off the subject, Caitlyn!" Dil told her being rather rude to her.  
  
"On the contrary. Their love may have been the key to saving the universe that one time. Otherwise, Zim and Dib would have been abandoned. She couldn't take it in the fifth grade. If she hadn't loved Dib then they would have died for sure. What Callista did was very brave when she went back."  
  
"Do you know how they fell in love?" Caitlyn questioned.  
  
"Well, they were having coffee; they admitted that they loved each other. They had dinner, Yoshinoya, to be precise. They would have given up anything for each other. Even their lives. According to records, though, you shouldn't have been born for another twenty years."  
  
"Cait, we have to search for our past!" 


	4. Never Forget

Chapter 4 –Never Forget  
  
Twenty years ago:  
  
Thanksgiving was over, but its spirit lived on. Callista noticed a change in Zim; he didn't argue as much with Dib when the two were forced to be in the same room together. At least around Callista. When she questioned this, Zim just told her that he knew how much she despised the arguing. It was ironic though, for she fought with her sister a many times before. She hardly even knew her sister and yet she had been so mean to her. Dib seemed to be acting different too. She wasn't sure how, but she sensed a change in him also.  
  
"Thanks for dinner last night Callista. It was delicious," Dib thanked.  
  
"Well that's nice to say. You're welcome."  
  
"I think that it's really cool that you can jump from dimension to dimension like you do. I really hope that... some day we can... get married... or something."  
  
"I'd be honored to, Dib. You might call this a pre-proposal."  
  
"I'm so glad to hear that! My dreams have finally come true!"  
  
"I like it when you're happy. You should try it more often."  
  
"Okay. I'll try. I want to ask you something."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"Do you notice something... different about... I'm not sure."  
  
"There's something I sense, too. Something bad is going to happen. I'm scared."  
  
"Me too," Dib confessed as he held Callista's hand and gripped it tight. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, though. Never."  
  
"I know." Callista just sat on the couch and looked at Dib, looking very worried indeed. "I know of something else, too."  
  
Five years later, Callista and Dib are twenty years old.  
  
"Do you Dib, take Callista to be your lawfully wedded wife?" A priest said at the nearest park. It seemed to be just yesterday that they vowed to be together forever.  
  
"I do."  
  
"Do you Callista, take Dib to be your lawfully wedded husband?"  
  
"Yes. I do." Callista loved Dib, and now they would be together forever. It was the happiest day of her life, and there were only a few people there. Zim was there because he was Callista's friend. Proff. Membrane was there because he was Dib's father. That was all. Gaz liked Dib better now (isn't that unbelievable), but she couldn't make it. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of her being the flower girl either. When Dib drove Callista home, they thought about how happy they were. It was too... incredible.  
  
"How was your day?" Dib asked.  
  
"Are you kidding? We just got married!"  
  
"Oh yeah, that's what I was trying to remember."  
  
"You're so funny. I really like it when you're funny."  
  
"I'll try to be funny more often, then."  
  
"Thanks, but I'd be happier if you were just yourself. That's why I married you."  
  
"Callista, you are one of a kind."  
  
"So are you. What do you want to do tonight?"  
  
"I was thinking about going out to dinner."  
  
"That sounds nice. It reminds me of the day we went out for dinner in the fifth grade. We're not going to Yoshinoya this time, though. We're going to a fancy restaurant."  
  
"Not too expensive though."  
  
"How about just for tonight?"  
  
"Okay. I'll take you to an expensive restaurant for tonight."  
  
"I think that this marriage will be the best decision either of us will have ever made."  
  
"I agree."  
  
Five years after  
  
"We're going to have a baby soon, so we'd better have a name ready," Callista told Dib.  
  
"Is it going to be a girl or a boy?"  
  
"A boy."  
  
"Hmm."  
  
"Since we're going to have a boy, why don't we name him something with the first two letters being 'D' and 'I'? Just like you."  
  
"Sure. But what name?"  
  
"How about Dil?"  
  
"That sounds good. Now that we have that settled, where are we going to live? This apartment complex is too small."  
  
"I know Dib, but it's all we can afford. I don't see how we could get a house. I didn't grow up in a house when I was a kid. Maybe our child won't mind either."  
  
"I can't help but feel guilty, though."  
  
"Don't. I think that we'll be fine parents, but I'm still nervous."  
  
"I know what you mean. I feel the same way."  
  
"I'm too excited, though! I never had a kid before!"  
  
"But still. We should try to be calm with a baby. We'll be good parents, you'll see."  
  
"I trust you."  
  
Five years after  
  
"Can I hear the story again, Daddy?" young Dil asked. Dib never dreamed he would become a dad when he was in the fifth grade. Dil was now about five years old. Dib was telling stories of his childhood in the living room.  
  
"Okay, Dib, I mean Dil. When I was in the fifth grade, I knew an alien. His name was Zim."  
  
"The same Zim that we know?" four-year old Caitlyn asked, for she was there too.  
  
"Yes, the same one. Well, one day I was trying to infiltrate Zim's lab. When I tried to make a transmission to your Aunt Gaz, Zim caught me. I was put in a containment chamber and then - "  
  
"Time for bed, Caitlyn; Dil."  
  
"Aw, darn. I love this part."  
  
"Okay, I'll tell you two tomorrow. Callista something's wrong." Dib informed as soon as the children left.  
  
"I know. I can sense it."  
  
"I have these visions. They're really awful."  
  
"Dib, they're back."  
  
"Oh, no! The Gauveuntains! How could they be back?"  
  
"Dib, this is serious. Before we can do ANYTHING, there's something I need to tell you."  
  
"What is it? I'll understand. You can trust me."  
  
"Well, when I was in the fifth grade, I said I was a resistor. Right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"Well, one thing I was a resistor of was the advancement of technology."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yes. If I were to be pro to it instead of con, I would become too weak to defend myself. I would lose The Ability forever."  
  
"Wow. That's strange..."  
  
"I like to make crafts. Those keep my gift alive. More importantly, I have something to tell you about me. Dib, before I came to this reality, I got into a serious fight. I was depressed for life. Something happened between a friend and I. We were just sitting in the cafeteria, when she took me by the wrist and outside. She started to punch me over and over again. I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I was about to suffocate. There was something worse about it though. She spread rumors; no one liked me. Everyone hated me. I don't know what it was. I've been depressed about something. I need help finding out what the problem is!"  
  
"I'll help you. I think you were just sad because no one believed you."  
  
"How did you know...?"  
  
"Someone in this room has said, 'Believe me. I know.'"  
  
"Thanks Dib. I know now that you have The Ability. Just like me. I need to tell you something, though. It's from my diary."  
  
"I'm all ears."  
  
"March 14, 2001. Today was an awful day. I was on the field for lunch recess playing kickball. I was trying to prove that I could kick a kickball past the server. I injured myself on the first base plate. As always, I was out. I wish that an adult were making the calls instead of inaccurate children. Even a yard duty would've been better, even though it wouldn't have worked this time. I have a breathing condition, most likely asthma, and I was breathing heavily. The kids told me to get off rather rudely, and eventually got the yard duty. Even an adult didn't believe me. The injuries that I get into always look so fake. Why do they always look so fake? I pleaded for help in between gasps, and only my friends believed me. To my misfortune, the yard duty instructed the children away despite my plead not to. If any one of them tried to help me, they would have gotten in trouble. I nearly cried. I just lied there, trying to breathe, hoping I wouldn't pass out." At reading this, Callista cried. It was so long ago, back in the fifth grade, yet it seemed like it was only four years ago. It still hurt.  
  
"Oh, how sad. Callista, don't cry! I want you to smile! Don't cry! That was twenty-four years ago! It doesn't matter!"  
  
"You don't understand – they didn't believe me! You don't know how awful that is!"  
  
"I think I do." Dib showed her his journal from the fifth grade. It read:  
  
"October 5, 2001 –  
  
Today I found a real live alien! His name is Zim and he's going to take over the Earth! I'm going to save the planet! But there is a down side. No one believes me. They think I'm crazy. I hope I can do this. There's a lot of burden on my shoulders. I wish someone believed me! Not even my own sister. That hurts. And a lot." A tear splotched the writing of the last line.  
  
"I'm sorry, I was so stupid to think that I was the only one who was highly speculated upon."  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"Good. I'm glad that's settled." 


	5. Saving the Universe

Chapter 5 –Saving The Universe  
  
Dil and Caitlyn in the realm of the mysterious lady.  
  
"Searching for our past? You have got to be kidding. I think you've been listening to Dad's stories too much," Caitlyn put in.  
  
"Think about it, Cait. According to science, Mom is from another dimension. I know it's strange, but - "  
  
"Strange? It's ridicules!" Caitlyn put in.  
  
"You will now go to the wasteland that is your home planet. Good luck."  
  
"How will we find our past?" Dil questioned.  
  
"You will do so by unknown means."  
  
"What does that mean?" Caitlyn asked.  
  
"It means we have to find out for ourselves," Dil informed.  
  
"Oh, just wonderful! We have to find our past in a wasteland, and we aren't even out of elementary yet!"  
  
"We have to twist two black holes into a wormhole (two black holes linked if you don't know) in order to find our past."  
  
"Where are we going to get the equipment to do that?"  
  
"We don't need equipment. Wormholes occur naturally as well as they occur with equipment." Eventually, they stood at the place they had stood before they were lifted off their feet.  
  
"How are we going to track them? It's physically impossible, you know."  
  
"Well, it's impossible to travel from dimension to dimension, isn't it? We can make something like a compass."  
  
"And that would help us how...?"  
  
"It wouldn't exactly detect the poles, but detect the increasing density of matter."  
  
"I may be a scientist when I grow up, but you aren't exactly making sense."  
  
"Easy. It means it will detect when matter becomes denser. This is when wormholes occur. They must." After a while of scavenging for scraps, they barely noticed the condition of their neighborhood. It was a total wasteland. The town was rubble as far as the eye could see. This made it easy to spot Zim's house.  
  
"Zim's house! It's still standing! But how?" Caitlyn asked.  
  
"Let's go," Dil ordered as the two proceeded onward through the wasteland that they once called home. "What happened to this place? Did a hurricane hit it?"  
  
"No, Dil, your stupid bomb did this. This is only a few seconds after the blast."  
  
"Zim's house is still standing because that's where the central location of the bomb was!"  
  
"Good guess. What if Zim's still alive?"  
  
"Zim is alive." The two of them continued on to Zim's house. They stopped short. Literally. Zim was there.  
  
"You two! What did you do?"  
  
"We set a bomb off," Caitlyn blurted out.  
  
"Do you know that what you did has destroyed your town? Good thing Callista was in – side... Your mother was out, wasn't she?"  
  
"Yes. Dad too," Dil said hesitantly.  
  
"Well, I don't care too much for your dad, but Callista's... dead... How could you do this to your own mother? I know how much you humans care, so what was your motivation?"  
  
"We were trying to save the Earth," Dil informed, once again.  
  
"Yeah, well, guess what? YOU DESTROYED IT! THAT'S MY JOB! Callista... was my dear friend. I gave my life for her but by a miracle of chance we went into the event horizon of the black hole! That's where logic does not compute. I became alive."  
  
"Oh my gosh..." Caitlyn and Dil gasped.  
  
"You're mother was the only human worthy of being my friend, and you killed her! How could you do this?" Zim was already upset. It struck him odd that he would care so much about a friend that was a human. The thought had sickened him years ago, but now it was happening. Zim cared about his friend and there was nothing he could do about it.  
  
"You two will have to pay for the death of your mother. And as she once said, "Not in dollars and, and, cents! You will have to be punished very severely. You committed mass murder! You destroyed the world! You killed your mother! I never understood why she fell in love with the Dib, but I've never known that. I don't know what to do with you! I can't kill you because it would crush your mother. But what can I do?"  
  
"How about letting us borrow equipment so we can recover a twenty year gap,"  
  
Dil asked sweetly. Zim's eyes went wide.  
  
"How do you know about the time gap?"  
  
"A lady told us we had to find our past. She said that there was no record of Mom and Dad getting older, yet they were twenty years older. She also said that we don't have a record of getting born."  
  
"You are the ones that need to do a very dangerous mission. You must do this for your parents. I will take you to view your past, since you can't change it. You must find out what happened and set the record straight. Callista wouldn't want you to go alone, so GIR will have to go with you."  
  
"Oh, no, not GIR!" Dil yelled out as GIR jumped at the sound of his name.  
  
"Hello...? Did someone say my name? I love the monkey! Doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, doom..."  
  
"Share the 'DOOM song' with Dil and Caitlyn. Go now," Zim ordered.  
  
"Hi, Caitlyn!" GIR screamed at the top of his robotic lung thingies to Dil.  
  
"Hey, I'm not a girl!" Dil shouted.  
  
"Yes you are!" GIR shrieked.  
  
"Let's go, GIR. We've got work to do," Caitlyn instructed.  
  
"Okay..." Zim lead the children to his base where they found the age device.  
  
"Jump in," Zim instructed.  
  
"Okay, we're really sorry. We know that Callista was your best friend and we're going to rescue her. We love Mom, and won't let anything happen to her. We know she's your friend, and nothing bad will happen to her."  
  
"I hope you're right, for your sakes. I would never want anything to happen to her."  
  
"I know. Callista liked you a lot too. You were her best friend," Caitlyn told him.  
  
"You have The Ability too, don't you?" Zim inquired.  
  
"Yes. All of us do. Dad, Mom, Dil, and I. It sort of runs in the family, I guess."  
  
"It certainly does, Caitlyn. Now, GIR come here and we're going on a trip!" Dil exclaimed. They jumped into a spiraling void of light and dark. It didn't look very welcoming, but nothing would stop them from meeting their ultimate goal. Once they had left, GIR said,  
  
"I like you!"  
  
"I know you do GIR, but we have a bigger problem! We have to save our parents!" Just then they were at the time when Dib and Callista were of fifteen years of age. The two sat on Zim's couch.  
  
"Dib, do you ever think we'll get married?" Callista wondered.  
  
"Yeah, I think so." Dib replied.  
  
"Do you think we'll ever have children?" questioned Callista.  
  
"Wouldn't she like to know," Dil said in a know-it-all manner.  
  
"Yeah, I think so. Do you ever wonder what it would be like to raise children?"  
  
"Every day. It would certainly be... different. I know it would be a challenge."  
  
"Is she kidding? We never argue," Dil stated in amazement.  
  
"We do so!" Caitlyn yelled.  
  
"Do not!"  
  
"Do so!"  
  
"Do not!"  
  
"Be quiet!" GIR screamed in his high-pitched cute voice, even though Callista and Dib could not hear, "This is out of control! You need to be responsible!"  
  
"Why?" Dil and Caitlyn asked together.  
  
"I love you guys! Give me a hugy-woo!"  
  
"NO!!"  
  
"Aw, come on. You're nice!"  
  
"Let's just save Mom and get out of this time!" Dil screamed.  
  
"Right. We need to be able to travel through the timeline, pinpoint the minute that something went wrong. We can't just play it by ear for twenty years!" Caitlyn shouted out.  
  
"Perhaps we can travel through the timeline as you describe. In viewing the past, it's like choosing a time to go to out of many."  
  
"Right. All we have to do is... I don't know, now that I think of it," Caitlyn thought aloud.  
  
"Mom said it had something to do with the mind. And a crystal. I'm not sure what she meant by that."  
  
"Try focusing your mind on... what do you think might have caused this jump?"  
  
"Well, it could have been a paradox."  
  
"What might cause such a paradox that would end in this particular outcome?" Caitlyn asked frantically.  
  
"It might be... something that caused the universe to take a jump ahead in time. Something like the bomb – It affected the whole world, but didn't put a scratch on Zim's lab. But in reverse. The whole universe had a record of growing older except for Zim's house!"  
  
"Now that's the first thing today that anyone's said that makes sense. What could have aged the world twenty years, though?"  
  
"Oh... did I do that?" GIR asked stupidly.  
  
"Oh, just great! GIR's trademark response! This is why Mom got so frustrated! I remember the vision that described what happened! GIR said, "Oh... did I do that?" so innocently, and yet so... stupidly! GIR, what did you do? Where was the device you used? When did you do it?" Caitlyn interrogated furiously.  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
"You don't know! How could you not know? You moronic, idiotic, stupid, imbecile! Another trademark phrase! "I, don't, know!" is that all you can say? Catchy phrases from before I was born that I was told about?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"GIR let me put it this way. You know the 'DOOM song'?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Well, the only thing the universe will be is DOOM, do you get it now, you moron?!"  
  
"Yes, but I don't like what you called me!" GIR was crying.  
  
"Oh, GIR, I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm sorry! I'll make you biscuits and order tacos if you do this for me," Caitlyn offered.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Yes! I was in Zim's lab, sector seven, year 2005, month of November, day of the 26th, hour of 2:32 a.m., and, and, I ate chocolate! Oooohh, did I just do that?"  
  
"Yes, GIR. Thanks," Dil thanked.  
  
"I am... scared. I've never been that... what's it called again?"  
  
"Accurate, GIR, it's called accurate."  
  
"Woo hoo! Hee, hee, hee, hee!"  
  
"Okay, I'll focus my mind on that. Here... we... go..." Dil told the other two. They found themselves in the kitchen of Zim's house with the beans on the stove. This was no longer the past. This was the present. Their actions decided the fate of the future.  
  
"GIR, stay here. We'll go to the base and deactivate the machine. Good luck," Caitlyn whispered to GIR as she and Dil went into the base beneath. When Zim came into the kitchen and asked about the beans, all GIR could say was,  
  
"I don't know!" Dil and Callisa progressed further down into the base; the clock struck 2:31. Any minute the machine would activate. One minute, to be precise.  
  
"Almost there!" Dil exerted himself in getting to the top of the five-foot machine. The GIR of the present was just hopping onto the machine when he found the deactivation switch and flicked it. "I did it!"  
  
"NO! I want to play with the toy!" GIR screeched.  
  
"This is no toy GIR! Keep your robotic hands off, or I'll, I'll, I'll cancel the Scary Monkey Show!" Dil threatened.  
  
"Ahhhhh!!!!" GIR yelped and ran to the top of the house. At that instant, Dil and Caitlyn and the future GIR disappeared. They would be seen when they were rightfully born in twenty years. 


	6. Conclusion - Finding Answers

Chapter 6 – Conclusion – Finding Answers  
  
Thirty years in the future – Caitlyn and Dil are looking at a photo album together. They are now twenty and twenty-one years old.  
  
"This is when you two were in a school play together, and this is when you were doing presentations on what occupation you want to have when you grow up, and this – this is a picture of all of us. Dil, you were eleven, Callista you were ten, and your mother and I were thirty-five. Time sure flies." Dib was now forty-five years of age, and Dil was going to get married next week. The girl wanted to be a scientist like Dil's sister. Despite the fact that they believe different things, they still are open- minded with each other. Her name was Natalie.  
  
"You know Dad, you aren't the only one who had an adventure into science and the paranormal," Dil informed. He was now a paranormal investigator and Caitlyn was a scientist.  
  
"Really? Tell us, son," Callista instructed.  
  
"Nah, it'd probably upset the balance of space/time," Caitlyn said.  
  
"That's okay, Dil, Caitlyn. We understand very well. We have our own story to tell, but you might not believe us," Dib told his two grown children.  
  
"Dad, I'm sure we will. Believe me. We will." Dil assured his father and the four of that family arose. They looked into their separate telescopes and saw a space ship that belonged to Seralio. Right then and there Dil and Caitlyn knew that the mysterious lady from before was none other than their forty-five year old mother.  
  
Well I hope you liked it! I enjoy friendly criticism (like others have given me before **thank you!**) , but no flaming please! I'm just an 11 year old who loves Invader Zim and also loves to write! ( Not everything was answered in this story to my satisfaction, so there might be yet another story on its way to a site near you. To bore you no further, this story has now officially ended.--- Invader Mel signing off 


End file.
